New Chapters
by walkingacrossthesand
Summary: Together, Amy and Ty face new challenges in their life, the question is can their relationship cope with these changes? Constructive comments are appreciated and acted upon. Please read, review, follow and share if you like this story! UPDATED REGULARLY! Thank you! Please understand that I'm trying to establish a storyline and that some aspects of the storyline may appear odd.
1. Chapter 1

Standing at the side of Spartan, Amy checked the horse's girth one more time. Gently she placed her fingers in between the girth and Spartan's stomach before shouting "Georgie!"

Amy led Spartan out of the barn and into the morning sunlight.

"Georgie! Spartan's ready!" Amy shouted, standing Spartan near the water trough, allowing Spartan to take a drink.

Spartan's black coat glistened in the sunlight, it was late spring and the temperatures were on rise. The majority of the horses were out in the pastures grazing and enjoying the best of the weather.

Earlier that morning, Spartan had been slightly reluctant about being brought in for a ride however, it was important that he was exercised.

A couple of years ago, Spartan had broken one of his legs and things were very touch and go for him. There were a number of times throughout the course of Spartan's treatment, when Amy had to consider whether putting Spartan to sleep would be a kinder option. Miraculously, Spartan recovered and resumed a good quality of life. Amy now had to make sure that Spartan upheld a good level of physical fitness.

"Come on Georgie!" Amy said as Georgie emerged from the pastures, carrying her riding hat and body protector. "Spartan's all tacked up for you."

Sighing, Georgie broke into a jog.

"Thank you!" Amy handed Georgie Spartan's reins.

Running her hands down Spartan's neck and towards his withers, Georgie stood at his side and placed her foot in the stirrup iron.

"Erm hat on first please and go to the mounting block." Amy said, tapping Georgie's hat.

Sighing again, Georgie slipped her foot back out of the stirrup and placed her hat on her head, fastened it and put on her body protector too. "Thank you, now where you going?"

"I'm meeting a friend at Clairedale Ridge" Georgie said dragging the mounting block over.

"A friend?" Amy questioned, raising her eyebrows.

Georgie frowned at Amy before smiling. "Okay, Steven. Don't tell Mom though, I don't want her to freak out."

Lou was renowned for making a big deal out of everything. Any news was blown out of proportion, if it was good news, she'd have a celebration, cake, balloons and a gathering. If was bad news she'd counsel you, ask everyone else in the family about it and she would constantly dissect the situation in her mind. Lou was a worry wart.

If Lou found out that Georgie was potentially seeing a boy or even worse if she had a boyfriend, everyone in the family would bear the brunt of her questions. Immediately the boy in question would undergo several character assessments, be required to attend dinners and family functions… The list would be endless.

"I'm not keeping secrets from Lou" Amy said tapping Georgie's foot. "But I won't mention it if she doesn't ask." She said smiling.

"Thanks Amy" Georgie said smiling as she gathered her reins, "I'll see you later. Come on Spartan."

"Bye Georgie, be careful." Slowly Amy lowered herself down onto the mounting box and sat down.

Nearly eight and a half months pregnant, Amy had only just stopped riding and she already yearned to get back into the saddle.

Luckily, Amy had remained quite small during her pregnancy and this had meant that she was able to keep riding. The doctor had agreed with Amy that she could ride right up until a month before her due date or until it got uncomfortable, despite protests from an incredibly concerned Ty.

When Ty and Amy had found out she was pregnant, Ty was ecstatic, Amy was slightly concerned.

A baby would demand a lot of her attention and she worried about what impact this would have upon her work. Heartland could not function without her, or rather, Amy could not function without Heartland.

Now a fully qualified vet and partner in Hudson Veterinary Surgery with Scott Cardinal, Ty was incredibly busy. He worked long days and nights alternatively with Scott. Amy worried about the impact this would have upon the care of their child.

"Amy!" Katy, Lou's other daughter, ran across the yard towards Amy, her hair tied into little plaits bouncing. The little girl was dressed in flowery leggings and a white T-shirt.

"Hey Katie" Amy held out her arms and placed the little girl on her knee.

Looking up, Amy saw Lou head out of the farm house carrying a little bright pink backpack. "Katie, did you pack your brush and towel?"

Amy looked at Katie, "ooh are you going swimming?!"

Nodding, Katie turned to Lou and shouted "yes mom!" Jumping up from Amy's knee Katie began to explain to Amy what she was planning to do at swimming. "You know the big water slide? Not the little yellow one, the huge, massive, giant red one?!" Katie staggered around holding out her arms, gesturing the size of the water slide.

Lou came and stood behind Katie. Gently placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder and smiling.

"You're never going to go down that red one?! Are you brave enough?!"

Rolling her lips Katie laughed, "Me?! Of course I am!"

Pulling a shocked face, Amy widened her eyes, opened her mouth and spoke with a hushed tone. "No!"

"Come on then, or the leisure centre will be closed before we even get there." Lou said, passing her daughter the pink backpack. "Go and get into the truck please."

"Can I sit in the front Mom?" Katie asked Lou, swinging the backpack from side to side.

Lou looked up at the sky for a moment before patting Katie on the head, "go on then! But, remember to get your booster seat." Lou called as Katie ran off towards the truck.

Lou held out a hand and pulled Amy up, "you're so tiny compared to me when I was pregnant." Lou said, gently patting Amy's stomach once she was upright on her feet.

"I don't feel it. I can't do anything." Amy said smiling and pushing her long blonde hair out of her eyes.

"Not much time left now. Anyway Georgie's helping out isn't she? Where has she gone on her ride?" Lou asked, walking with Amy towards the car.

"Erm she said Clairedale Ridge" Amy said, her conversation with Georgie about keeping Steven a secret echoed in her mind.

"She's so happy to help out around the yard you know." Lou said, stopping in front of her truck.

"And I'm grateful" Amy said smiling.

Katie slammed a truck door shut on the other side of the truck. She emerged into side carrying her booster seat, swaying with the weight of it.

"Katie! Don't slam the door! Pass me that booster seat." Lou took the seat from her daughter's arms, "I'll see you later Amy. Say bye to Amy, Katie."

"See you later" Amy replied, walking back to the doorway of the barn.

Usually, the barn was full of activity. One horse, usually a new arrival, would be kicking the stall door, demanding attention. Caleb would be stood in the aisle, trying to distribute the right hay nets to the right horses, whilst keeping an eye on the dodgy wheelbarrow that they used to carry the feeds and collecting the empty feed buckets. It would be fair to say that a couple of swear words would be uttered from Caleb's mouth during this.

Amy would follow behind Caleb, cleaning each horse's water trough and checking that they were working correctly. Whilst doing this, Amy would check the horses would be checked over.

Now, Amy woke up to an empty barn. The feed buckets were clean and empty, stacked up at the side of the feed bins, ready to be filled. Hay nets were gathered in the wheelbarrow, which, Caleb had fixed by replacing the wheel. Caleb remained at home until about midday, when he came to check on the horses and exercise the few that required it.

Just as Lou's truck began to weave down the driveway, the phone rang in the tack room.

"Hello Heartland" Amy said, picking up the phone and speaking into the receiver. She sat down into the desk chair and wiggled the mouse on the computer, bringing up the Heartland booking forms.

"Hey" Ty's familiar voice appeared on the other end of the receiver.

Sinking down into her chair, Amy closed the booking form window down on the computer screen. "Hey, how was work?"

"Pretty quiet, we've only got a couple of patients in. How are you feeling?"

Amy wanted to say fed up, bored, anything but fine. "Fine, when you coming home?" She replied.

"In about 45 minutes, will you be at ours or Heartland?"

Staring out the doorway, Amy's glance was greeted by empty stalls. Through the window, the horses were just visible in the distance grazing in the pasture. "I'll head back over to ours."

"Okay, I've got to run, I'll see you later. Love you." As Ty spoke Amy could hear Scott saying good morning as he entered the surgery.

"Love you too."

Putting down the receiver, Amy accidentally knocked the computer mouse, causing the screen to light up again. She clicked on the internet and the Heartland website's homepage popped up.

Lou was in charge of the website, which included information about Heartland, query forms and advertisements for the Dude Ranch and Maggie's diner.

Usually Lou updated the website with videos and images of other horses who were undergoing treatment and comments of past customers.

However, now there was a red banner going across the centre of the page. It explained how Amy wasn't taking any more bookings and would be returning to work next year. "Next year?!" Amy exclaimed, immediately she began to try and edit the website, typing madly away on the keyboard.

"There's steam coming off that keyboard I think." Jack came into the office and placed his hat the desk.

Jack Bartlett was Amy's Grandfather, however, over the years he'd filled a number of roles in Amy's life. From grandfather, to father to friend, Jack had been there for everyone. Born and raised at Heartland, Amy couldn't imagine the ranch without him.

Although Heartland was mainly devoted to rescuing and rehabilitating horses, Jack still owned a herd of cattle with Tim Fleming, Amy's father. The cattle grazed on Bartlett and Fleming land, often rotating with the horses.

It was true that the cattle were the cause of many arguments between Jack and Tim but, Amy knew that neither would give the cattle up for anything.

"Lou's taken it on herself to give me a year's leave from work!" Amy exasperated.

Sitting down in the chair opposite Amy, Jack smiled. "She should've asked you but, she comes from a good place Amy."

"I know," Amy sighed, "I just want to be involved still. Every decision seems to be made without me."

Jack looked across the tack room and at a picture which was hung on the wall. It showed Marion, Amy and Lou's mother, stood with her horse Pegasus. Marion looked a lot like Amy, they both had long blonde hair and the same piercing blue eyes.

For the majority of Amy's life, Marion had been a single parent. Amy only met Tim properly after her sixteenth birthday and Marion's death.

"You remind me a lot of your mother" Jack said wistfully. "Remember Amy, she didn't let anything stop her."

Jack paused and for a moment, Amy thought the old man was tearing up. Maybe, despite the hard exterior, with the salt and pepper moustache, beard and grey hair, identical checked shirts and cowboy boots, there was an emotional side to Jackson Bartlett.

But then Jack suddenly snapped out of his emotional mood, hearing and seeing Caleb's truck pull up, Jack jumped up from the chair. "Caleb!" He bellowed, barely glancing at Amy as he left the office "Caleb! You didn't go and check on the cattle yesterday! I knew you finished work early of your own accord!" He bellowed. Amy watched as Jack stormed across the yard and began to nag Caleb.

Amy simply sighed and began to re-edit the website, ensuring that the notice detailed that Amy would be taking on a reduced number of clients in three months.


	2. Chapter 2

The ranch that Amy and Ty had bought was called Driftwood Ranch. The name was derived from the ranch's position at the end of the stream that ran through Heartland and the Dude Ranch.

The gate at the top of their long driveway was made out of the driftwood that had actually travelled down the stream. The wood was twisted and turned, making the blue, purple and green dyes that ran through it look stunning. Another piece of driftwood, which Jack had engraved the name of the ranch engraved in it, was attached to the gate.

Pushing the gate open, Amy smiled, owning their own ranch still seemed surreal. Wild flowers, herbs and grasses grew in the paddocks which surrounded the driveway, making the fields look like a beautiful multi-coloured water painting.

The yard was situated at the end of the driveway hidden by bushes, on the left hand side. At the moment the bushes had flowers on which were just about to bloom into little white flowers. On the right hand side were some pastures, and directly at the end was the river, in front were some beautiful wild flowers.

Turning the truck into the yard, Amy parked up at the side of the barn. Last year, Amy had bought a turquoise Chevrolet truck to get around in. She loved it.

"You could be a bit more pleased to see me" Amy said to Lobo, who was laid right in the centre of the yard in the sun. The husky-like dog simply opened one eye and wagged his tail a couple of times.

Hearing the commotion in the yard, a little gangly puppy, with scraggly sandy hair came bounding towards Amy. "Hey Nev!"

Nev had only been with Ty and Amy for about three months. He'd been abandoned in Hudson and taken into the vets because he was drastically underweight and had a skin disease. After undergoing treatment for the skin disease, Ty brought Nev home because he wasn't coping in the vets. The little pup still wasn't eating.

Once Nev arrived at Driftwood Ranch, Amy instantly fell in love. The little mongrel's cheeky personality came to the surface and he began to gain weight. Lobo also appreciated little Nev's company, the two formed a firm friendship and began to terrorise the ranch.

Amy held a hand down as low as she could and Nev jumped up and licked it. "See how excited Nev is to see me?" Amy said to Lobo, who simply wagged his tail again, keeping his eyes shut.

Walking across the yard, Amy headed towards the house, with Nev running ahead.

Ty and Amy's ranch house was similar to the one at Heartland. Both houses were surrounded by wooden verandas, had screen doors and wooden shutters surrounded each window.

However, Ty and Amy's house was made with the same wood that the gates were made out of. The wood had grains which were dyed purple, blue and green.

On the veranda, there was a little bench and the two dog beds and their water bowls for when they were outside. Sitting on the veranda was one of Amy's favourite things to do. From the front of the house you could see the river and the back of the house faced the pastures.

Unlocking the front door, Amy took the dog bowls inside and refilled them with cold water. "Lobo!" Amy set down the fresh water bowls and Nev immediately went and drank the cold water. Even though it was just the start April, the heat was already increasing. Lobo was incredibly hot because he still had a bit of a winter coat, he'd already been to the groomers and got cut but, the heat was still a bit of a problem.

Lobo got up from the middle of the yard and wandered over to the veranda.

Leaving the dogs outside, Amy went back inside the house and began to make Ty some breakfast. Working from 6pm in the evening till 9am the next morning meant that Ty usually came home from work very tired and hungry.

After putting bread into the toaster, Amy heard the dogs outside barking. Looking through the big open windows in the kitchen, Amy saw Ty's blue truck come into the yard and park next to Amy's.

When Ty got out of the truck, he looked incredibly worn out. His hair was ruffled, like he'd been running his hands through it and he had a little bit of stubble on his face.

Amy went and opened the screen door. "Hey" Amy said, stepping aside and letting Ty go by her.

"Morning" Ty put down his vet bag and went over to Amy and kissed her. "You didn't have to make me breakfast!" He exclaimed, looking at the table which was laid "but I'm so glad you did! I'm starving" Ty said chuckling.

"I would be too!" Amy said passing Ty some orange juice from the fridge.

"Anyway, how are you feeling today? Did Georgie take Spartan out?" Ty asked, taking a mouthful of toast.

Nodding, Amy sat opposite Ty and poured herself a glass of orange juice, "yeah, Georgie's going to ride him back here. I'm going to give him a couple days off."

"That'll be good for his leg, and Harley will be pleased" Ty said between mouthfuls and nodding.

"Right" Amy said finishing her orange juice and standing up, "I'm going to the barn."

A look of concern fell across Ty's face, resulting in Amy's little niggle of anger to come back to life. Putting down his cutlery, Ty went to stand up, "I'll come with you" he insisted.

Smiling through the anger, Amy shook her head, "I'm fine. You go and have a sleep then later we'll go over to Heartland. Lou's bringing in dinner from Maggie's."

Reaching out, Amy felt for the chair to support herself.

"Amy?! Amy?!" Ty panicked and ran round the table, he held onto Amy's elbows.

"Oh god Ty! I think… I think the baby's coming!"


	3. Chapter 3

"Grandpa? Have you heard anything?" Lou came flying through the screen door carrying Katie, who was covered in yellow paint and clutching onto a painting that resembled a sun.

Jack turned around from the coffee pot and shook his head. "Nothing new, Ty said he'd ring straight away if anything changed."

"Georgie!" Lou shouted, setting Katie on the kitchen table, "I wish we could be at the hospital."

Pouring two cups of coffee, Jack passed a cup to Lou and leant against the kitchen counter. "We'd just be sat in a waiting room drinking coffee, probably sleeping on those uncomfortable plastic chairs."

"Has Amy had her baby?!" Georgie came running down the stairs and skidded into the kitchen with a huge grin on her face.

"Not yet, we're still waiting" Lou said, handing Georgie Katie's backpack, "could you bath your sister please?"

"Come here Katie" Georgie held up her arms towards Katie and lifted the little girl off the kitchen table. "Ew, she's covered in yellow paint! Are we still getting dinner from the diner?" Georgie asked on her way out.

"I'll ask Peter to pick it up on his way home from work." Lou said smiling as she took a sip from her coffee.

Georgie smiled and helped Katie up the staircase.

"Georgie?" Lou called again.

"Yeah?" Georgie, turned her head and looked at her adoptive mother.

"Could you do her hair in the little plaits? I love her hair like that." Lou said to a proud looking Georgie.

The screen door flew open, "Jack! I've been trying to ring you! Who's on the landline?" Tim Fleming bellowed.

Striding into the kitchen, Tim reached across the table and took an apple from the fruit bowl in the centre of the kitchen table. Biting into it, Tim eventually acknowledged the nervous energy that filled the kitchen. "What?!" He exclaimed with a mouthful of apple.

"Haven't you heard?" Lou asked.

Tim looked from Lou to Jack, "heard what?" He asked before taking another bite of his apple.

"Amy's having the baby" Jack said, sitting down at the table and bracing himself for Tim's almost inevitable tantrum.

"Why am I always the last to know?" Tim said standing up. "One of you could've phoned me. Hell, my son in law could've phoned me! This always happens! No one in this family appreciates me!"

Whilst Tim ranted, Jack began to read the front page of the newspaper that was set on the table. Lou began to make some sandwiches for Katie and Georgie's packed lunches tomorrow.

"Why aren't we there?! Oh you're ignoring me now?!" Tim exclaimed, slumping back down into his chair.

"No Dad, we just found out ourselves. If we went up there we could be waiting hours! We're waiting for another call" Lou said, getting butter and ham out of the fridge.

"Well how long has she been in there?" Tim questioned.

"Since this morning." Lou replied, knowing that Tim would kick up a fuss.

"This morning!" Sulking, Tim slumped down even further into his chair. "No one phoned me still." He muttered, throwing his apple onto Jack's newspaper.

In response, Jack huffed and threw the apple core back at Tim, "Grow up!" Jack growled.

Immediately Tim threw back the apple into Jack's lap.

Although Jack and Tim were supposedly mature and wisely men, when in each other's company, they regressed into toddlers. They constantly nagged, teased and fought with each other, often physically.

"Grandpa Tim!" Katie ran down the stairs with her hair dry and in little plaits either side of her ears.

"Hello Katie, two seconds, Grandpa Jack is being very babyish." Tim said, not taking his eyes off Jack.

Katie simply stood in between her Grandfather and Great-Grandfather looking confused, "Mom, what are they doing?" She asked Lou, who turned around exasperated.

"Dad, Grandpa, come on!" Lou said. "They're both being really silly Katie."

"Tim!" Jack bellowed, swiping the apple core away from his head with the paper.

"Sorry Jack, did that nearly hit you?" Tim said, mockingly assuming a tone of innocence.

Sensing that the situation had the potential to turn sour, Lou carefully steered Katie into the front room, away from the bellowing in the kitchen.

Jack and Tim were so loud in the kitchen, that she only just heard the phone ring. "Grandpa! Dad! Be quiet!" Lou shouted as she picked up the phone. "Hello?" She spoke into the receiver.

Silence descended over the house, an unusual noise for the house that housed three different generations of an ever expanding family.

Lou faced the window as she quietly spoke into the receiver. Jack and Tim stared at her, waiting to hear what was happening in regards to Amy.

"You too, bye" Lou said calmly, void of any indication regarding Amy and Ty. Carefully Lou put down the phone and turned around.

Tears were streaming down Lou's face, which held no expression.

"Lou?" Tim stood up, concern draped his entire face.

"She's had a little boy" Lou whispered, a smile formed on her face, "Amy's had a little boy!"

All four of them began to cheer, even little Katie. They were so loud that Georgie heard them from the attic and ran down the stairs. "Amy's had a boy Georgie!" Jack shouted smiling.

"A boy!" Georgie picked up Katie and swung the little girl around.

Tim hugged Jack, "hey Jack, I told you we should've headed over to the hospital" Tim said smiling.

"Tim" Jack growled, before hugging him back.


	4. Chapter 4

Sliding her hand through the hole in the side of the incubator, Amy gently placed the tip of her finger on her baby son's palm. Instantly, the new born baby clasped her finger within her hand. Beaming, Amy turned to Ty and smiled, her eyes filled with tears. "He's amazing…" She whispered, her voice incredibly hoarse.

"You saying hi to your Mom Seth?" Ty, crouching by Amy's wheelchair, smiling.

Seth Jackson Borden had been born approximately three weeks premature, meaning that he was very small and there were concerns regarding his weight and ability to control his own temperature. Therefore the doctor and midwives decided that it would be good for Seth to spend a couple of days in the Special Baby Unit.

Initially, Amy and Ty were very worried that something was seriously wrong with Seth. Both Ty and Amy got to hold Seth before he was taken to the Special Baby Unit. A nurse had allowed Ty and Amy in to see Seth in his incubator just before supper.

Seth had been born with no hair, which suggested that he was going to have blonde hair like Amy. His eyes were the same striking emerald green as Ty's. Seth was definitely a mixture of both Ty and Amy.

As soon as Amy saw her son, she immediately fell in love with him. Especially when the emerald green new born Babygro they had bought Seth was huge on him, making him look even smaller, with his little green hat.

"Hey Seth, here's your Dad again." Slowly Amy retracted her hand through the incubator and let Ty hold Seth's hand.

Turning to Amy, Ty smiled just like had done on their wedding day. His eyes were glittery and screamed pure excitement. Amy was amazed at Ty, he'd been working yesterday and all night, stayed with Amy right through her labour. Not once had he left her side or complained about being tired.

Physically however, Ty was showing his tiredness. His hair was standing up in all different directions, as a result of Ty running his hands through it, in an effort to keep himself awake. Although his eyes glittered, underneath he had dark circles. His clothes were crumpled after he'd shoved them into his backpack on the way out to the hospital.

"I'm sorry but, you're going to have to finish it up here" The nurse whispered. "You can come back tomorrow" she added, smiling reassuringly, patting Amy gently on the shoulder.

Ty studied Amy's hurt face. He knew that the last thing Amy wanted to do was leave Seth, and it was going to hurt like hell leaving him. "Hey, let's go and get something to eat" Ty said, trying to adopt a positive tone.

After taking his finger gently away from Seth's hand, Ty found Amy's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "We will come and see him tomorrow" he said maintaining the conscious positive tone.

Amy nodded in response and smiled. "Night Seth" she whispered, before sitting back properly in her wheelchair.

As Ty wheeled Amy out of the Special Baby Unit and down a number of corridors, Amy concentrated on her breathing. Concentrating on it meant that Amy could think about something other than her son being laid in a unit for sick babies.

"Here we go…" Ty pushed Amy inside the cafeteria and set her at a little table near a window. Even though it was evening, it was still light outside, indicating the imminent summer.

Amy imagined that back at Heartland, all the horses would be turned out in the paddocks. Usually, the regulars at Heartland, Paint, Pogi, Spartan and Harley, guided the rest of the horses down to the mouth of the river. During the hot days, the horses escaped the heat by going into a shallow part of the river for a paddle or a roll.

Usually, around this time, Jack would go and check on the cattle. He would saddle Paint up and go out just before sunset, catching the best of the sunset from the pastures whilst enjoying a flask of coffee. Then he'd ride back home before the beautiful lighting disappeared.

Lou would be preparing tea. Running around, preparing vegetables, whilst keeping an eye on Katie, who would be doing some sort of activity along the lines of painting, drawing or doing a jigsaw puzzle.

Peter would be either sat with Katie, often doing his own painting or taking as much interest in their jigsaw puzzle, or he'd be on his way back from work. Driving with an aim to be just in time for dinner, otherwise, Lou would be incredibly upset and in a mood with Peter for the rest of the evening, something which would impact the entire household.

Whilst Lou was preparing dinner, Georgie would be out with the horses. After an obligatory hour to work on homework, Georgie would quickly pull on her yard shoes, and run out to the barn. Usually she'd ride Phoenix, jumping him three times a week. On Wednesdays Georgie would go to trick riding but afterwards, she would help Amy with any jobs on the yard until tea.

Whilst sitting in the hospital canteen, imagining that life outside the four walls was still occurring seemed an almost impossible thought.

Prior to Seth, any time that Amy spent away from Heartland, a vast amount of time was spent thinking about Heartland in one way or another. Now, Heartland was an afterthought, Amy was focused on her son.

"I got us some vegetable soup" Ty said coming back over to the table shakily carrying a wooden tray with two bowls. As he placed the bowls down, the soup threatened to overspill the bowls. "There's a bread roll and butter."

Snapping out of her day dream Amy smiled and took a roll from the tray, "thank you."

The pair sat in silence as they ate their soup. Overcame with tiredness and emotion, even talking felt tiring. After eating half her soup and half her bread roll, Amy set down her spoon.

Ty glanced at Amy's left over food and smiled, "I guess we'll eat a big breakfast."

Finishing their food, Amy and Ty made their way back to their room, navigating through the endless cream corridors.

Amy fell into the hospital bed once they got back to the room. She ached all over, tiredness had been hanging over her all day, so when she got into bed, she expected to instantly fall asleep.

However, Amy laid in bed, staring at the clock on the wall, watching the hands rotate around the clock face. Despite feeling so exhausted, Amy couldn't go to sleep.

She just kept thinking and worrying about Seth, Ty and Heartland. Going over everything multiple times made her feel like she was in a state of delirium.

Hours passed when Amy got up out of bed and went for a walk.

She left Ty asleep in the chair beside Amy's beside. He was in a slumped uncomfortable-looking position. His hand held up his head and his feet were kicked out.

Despite it being the early hours of the morning, the hospital was still so busy. Randomly choosing corridors to go down, Amy ended up at a courtyard.

It wasn't much, a little bench and two flower pots either side basically made up the courtyard. Amy pushed open the door and felt the warm air brush her face.

Sitting down on the bench, Amy looked up at the sky. It was so nice to just look at something and think about that. Everything in the hospital was the same, uninteresting layout. Nothing was there to detract from the pain and love felt in the hospital.

Instead, Amy thought about clouds. The thicker the cloud coverage on an evening the warmer a night would be. If the clouds were thinner the night would be cool. When a haze descended over the Alberta landscape, Amy knew that the next day would be stunning. If Jack and Tim had any hay or straw to harvest, then they'd be straight out the next morning if there was a haze hanging around.

"Excuse me? Amy Fleming is it?" The nurse from the Special Baby Unit came out into the courtyard.

Her appearance was comforting. Blonde hair, that just drifted above her shoulders, ice blue eyes and a warm smile. She wore purple scrubs and glasses on her head.

In response to her earlier question, Amy nodded, like a school child that had been caught red handed.

"Marie" the nurse held out her hand and shook Amy's as she sat down next to her on the bench.

Amy didn't know what to say. All the nurses in the hospital had been lovely and wonderful at their jobs, however, they'd moved along to the next patient, and rightfully so.

"I thought you'd be asleep right now, especially after the day you had" Marie said smiling.

Raising her eyebrows, Amy smiled and shrugged. "I can't sleep. I just can't switch off."

"Look," Marie held one of Amy's hands, whilst her tone drifted gradually into a whisper. "Seth's doing really well. He's improving already. He and your partner need you to be on the best form possible. To be blunt, staying awake and adding to your exhaustion isn't going to help him."

Tears filled Amy's eyes. She'd never felt so much pressure and worry fall down on her in such a short period of time. Amy had been scared to show her worry, in case it had a knock on affect with Ty or Seth.

Marie passed Amy a tissue before guiding her up off the bench, "I'll walk you back to your room honey."

Leaving Amy at the entrance of her ward, Marie gave her a big hug, "now go and get some sleep honey."

"Thank you" Amy whispered in reply before walking down the ward and to her room.

Quietly, Amy twisted the handle of the room and stepped inside, ensuring that the door didn't slam shut. Amy stood and looked at the bed, the sheets were twisted and messy from Amy's restless movements earlier.

Instead of climbing back into bed, Amy looked at Ty, who was now stretched out in the chair. Smiling, she gently padded across the room and slid onto Ty's lap.

Waking from his sleep, Ty took a small intake of breath and opened his eyes. "Hey" he said in his gravelly voice, instantly taking Amy into his arms.

"Hey" Amy said in reply, nestling her head into the crook of Ty's neck and shutting her eyes. Momentarily, Amy fell into a deep sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Winding down the truck window, Amy turned and smiled at Ty. Feeling the wind brush against her face and tousle her long blonde hair was amazing. Happiness and contentment overwhelmed Amy.

In between Ty and Amy, in his green and blue car seat, sat Seth, who was eagerly looking around Ty's truck with his big green eyes.

Seth had been released from the Special Baby Unit after spending three days in there. He'd gained weight and proven his ability to monitor his own temperature after being removed from the incubator.

Being admitted to the Special Baby Unit meant that visitors, other than the parents, weren't allowed. This was because the babies in the Special Baby Unit were incredibly fragile and susceptible to any germs or illnesses brought in by outside visitors.

That had meant that no one from Heartland had met little Seth yet. Although physically the family weren't at the hospital, they made sure that their presence was felt. Constantly, Lou and Georgie were texting, the less technologically advanced Tim and Jack were phoning and leaving voicemails. Amy and Ty could guarantee after leaving their mobiles for more than half an hour, there would at least be a message waiting for them.

The last phone call to Heartland, which had happened earlier that morning, had sparked Lou to organise an impromptu 'welcome home Seth' party. At that moment, Lou was frantically trying to bake a cake, which she knew would taste awful.

Meanwhile, Lisa was picking up another cake, which would inevitably be used in the actual party when

Caleb was food shopping for Ty and Amy. Caleb had been given a precise list of all the items he should buy by Lou, including some additional items for the party, just in case Lou screwed up the rest of the food.

Jack had gone round Driftwood Ranch, checking that everything was okay and that Seth's room was ready for his arrival. He then did a bit of general yard work, wanting to keep away from Lou's madness which surrounded Heartland.

Gradually, Seth got tired, closed his big green eyes and fell asleep. Amy however, was too excited to realise the tiredness which hung over her, instead she was mesmerised by the familiar and comforting Alberta landscape that had been her home for her entire life.

Although three days was an incredibly short time in comparison, Amy's mind echoed her trip to Europe with Prince Ahmed. Amazing experiences were encountered during every moment of that trip however, Amy's heart ached for home.

Ty had been so petrified that going to Europe would've changed Amy's outlook on life. Perhaps she would've came back not wanting to marry him and maybe she would see Ty as settling for second best or a compromise.

When Amy came home however, the exact opposite happened. Missing Ty so much, Amy put her wages made from her European tour into Driftwood Ranch and started saving up for their wedding.

"Hey Seth" Ty said, looking down at his little son who had just woken up from his sleep. "You're home."

Pulling into Driftwood Ranch's driveway, Amy grinned and wound down the truck's window. Spartan and Harley were grazing underneath a small gathering of trees, when they saw Ty's truck, both horses lifted their heads and cantered towards the fence.

Their hooves thundered across the ground, keeping up with the truck, their manes flowed with their speed and they nickered as they saw Amy.

Both horses leapt across the tiny stream that ran through the middle of their field as Ty drove over the little bridge that made up a section of their driveway. During heavy rains the stream that connected to the river by a waterfall, swelled, splitting the field during the winter. In the summer, that field reached right around into the yard, so as Ty turned into the yard, Spartan and Harley were stood at the fence nickering.

Gently, Amy unbuckled Seth from his car seat, gently lifting the little baby into her arms. Ty opened the car door for Amy and took Seth from her arms.

Together they walked over to the fence where Spartan and Harley were stood. Reaching out, Amy patted Spartan's neck, the black horse leaned over her arm, almost like a hug.

Turning around, Ty had brought Seth up to the fence. Both Spartan and Harley gently sniffed Seth's feet, both nickering. Seth remained content, oblivious to the two horses.

"Come on then, let's get a shower before we head over to Heartland." Ty said, walking back towards the house after patting both horses.

Once Amy had followed Ty into the house, Spartan and Harley headed off back under the trees. Amy had hung salt licks and turnips from the branches, in the nooks and crannies were horse cookies, apples and carrots. They both liked to stand there and explore. Generally, Amy tended to replenish the tree with the food weekly, luckily Jack had done it that week.

Jack had also hung up two pictures in the nursery, that Ty hadn't got round to hanging yet. The little paintings of a frog and a fish hung above the white cot. Amy set Seth down in his white cot and stood, looking around the nursery.

Since finding out they were expecting Seth, Ty and Amy had prioritised getting the nursery finished in time for his arrival. They'd had a limited amount of money to spend on the decoration. They'd found a random selection of paints, left over from decorating other rooms in the house at Driftwood Ranch, rooms at Heartland and the Dude Ranch. Dark cloudy blue, a light powder blue, a small tin of orange and a small tin of green.

Ty had painted the entire room light powder blue, with stripes, varying in thickness, across the middle section of the walls. Lou had made the green curtains with white polka dots which hung at the window and reupholstered a chair in the same material, which was placed near the window. The white changing table, which completed the room, matched the crib.

"Amy, do you want to go in the shower first? I'll keep an eye on Seth whilst you get ready?" Ty stood in the doorway, in the background, Amy could hear the washing machine whirring away with their clothes from the hospital.

Turning around, Amy smiled and nodded, "that'd be great thank you." Amy hadn't left the hospital since she'd arrived four days ago, she'd been taking showers in the hospital but it wasn't the same. Instead of relaxing, Amy had been frantically trying to get back to Seth as quick as possible in case something occurred.

Now she was at home, Amy took her time. Washing and then styling her hair into a side plait. Amy's stomach was still slightly rounded, as it had only been a few days since Seth had been born. Aware of her thicker stomach, Amy put on a blue floaty blouse and jeans.

Stepping out of her and Ty's bedroom, Amy expected to hear the television on downstairs or Ty listening to music. Instead, the house was silent. Amy quietly walked across the landing and peaked into the nursery.

Sat in the nursery chair, Ty was feeding Seth. Amy stood at the door and smiled, it took Ty a couple of moments before he noticed Amy. "You look beautiful" Ty whispered, smiling.

Amy entered the room and sat on the arm of the chair "thank you" she smiled, "did you mix the formula or did you just heat up the bottle out of the hospital bag?"

Due to the fact that Seth had been taken to the Special Baby Unit, he'd had to be put on formula so that the nurses could feed him during the night when visitors weren't allowed in the SBU.

"I mixed a new one so we could take the premixed one over to Heartland." Ty said, gently burping Seth once he'd finished his bottle.

Smiling, Amy teased Ty, "you smell like you need a shower" she said, laughing and sniffing Ty's T-shirt.

"Thanks!" Ty said laughing, standing up and carefully placing Seth into Amy's arms.

Sitting back into the nursery chair, Amy cradled Seth in her arms, watching him stare right back at her with his big green eyes. "Now Seth, before you meet everyone, you need to know one thing… They're all crazy…"


	6. Chapter 6

"Oh my god! The cake!" Lou flew down the stairs, half of her hair curled and still straight.

Turning their heads to look at Lou, Jack and Lisa were curled up on the sofa reading the newspaper together. Occasionally one of them turned the page too fast and the other got a bit agitated, but, it remained one of the couple's favourite past times.

Jack and Lisa had gotten (nearly, Tim had found out somehow) secretly married a couple of years ago at the Dude Ranch. Since then, nothing had really changed in their relationship, they spent equal amounts of time at each other's homes and holidayed together.

"Shoot!" Lou pulled out a jet black, burnt to a crisp cake. Smoke accompanied it out of the oven and thanks to Lou, promptly outside.

Lisa heard the slam of the bin lid as Lou dumped the burnt cake into the bin with a flurry, determined to keep the smell of burning as contained as possible.

"Didn't you smell the burning?" Lou exclaimed as she came back into the house. Promptly Lou began to get the cake out of the fridge, which had been bought earlier that day by Lisa. She slid it onto the cake stand and put it back in the fridge, leaving that cardboard packaging on the kitchen unit.

"Old noses" Jack grumbled, smiling at Lisa.

Shooting a knowing stare at Jack, Lou headed back up the stairs "it's a good thing Ty fell asleep" she said as she headed up the stairs.

After going in the shower, Amy had found Ty fast asleep on their bed. Not wanting to wake him up, after all he was exhausted, Amy had phoned Lou to apologetically tell her that they would be late.

Lou had acted like their lateness would be a hindrance however, it was actually a pleasant surprise. Instead of cooking, Lou had been cleaning vigorously, then talking to Nicole on the phone and playing with Katie.

Georgie stomped down the stairs, crossing Lou as she came downstairs. "Mom, you've forgotten to curl one side of your hair!" Georgie shouted to Lou once she'd passed her.

"I know!" Lou shouted back in reply before shutting her bedroom door.

After getting dressed quickly then leaving Lou to get ready, Peter had been getting Katie changed from her cute shorts and T-shirt she'd worn to nursery into a little summer dress.

"Katie sweetheart, let me try and do your hair again!" Peter called after Katie, as she ran out of her nursery and into the front room with Peter following her, holding a variety of coloured hairbands.

Katie's hair was all stuck up and ruffled from Peter's attempts at brushing it. "I don't want to!" Katie shouted, running towards Jack and Lisa.

"Sit here Katie, tell Grandpa about nursery." Lisa lifted the little girl onto her knee and held out her hand to Peter, who passed Lisa the bobbles.

"Thank you" Peter smiled at Lisa and sat in the chair by the unlit fireplace.

Quickly, Lisa did two scalp plaits with Katie's hair, meanwhile, Katie chatted to Jack about nursery. Tomorrow Katie would be going on a field trip to a national park, they were going to look at the wildlife and play on the climbing frames.

"We're going on the bus!" Katie excitedly told Jack, gesturing a driving wheel as Lisa quickly finished her scalp plaits. Immediately Katie began to sing _wheels on the bus_ to Jack and Lisa.

Sat outside in the truck, with the windows wound down, Amy and Ty could hear Katie singing. Smiling, Amy turned to Ty and said, "Katie's singing again."

In Katie's nursery, apparently, they sang a lot of songs, songs about all different subjects such as numbers, food and animals. Katie loved nursery, and incidentally, when she came home sang all the songs that she'd learnt during the school day. At first Lou, Peter and everyone at Heartland found it cute, now it was an everyday occurrence, the initial appeal had been lost.

Getting out of the truck, three dogs came running towards Ty and Amy from the barn. As they got closer, it was clear to see that it was Lobo, Nev and Georgie's dog Remi, running towards them.

Whilst Amy and Ty had been in hospital with baby Seth, Lobo and Nev had been staying at Heartland. Both dogs were incredibly familiar with Heartland because when Amy came to work, she'd usually walk over with the dogs and they'd stay at Heartland during the day.

"Hey guys!" Amy crouched down and stroked each dog, "have you came to meet Seth?" She asked, looking up at Ty who had hold of Seth's car seat.

The three dogs simply peaked at the car seat before following them up the veranda.

Opening the screen door, Amy felt a sense of comfort as she stepped inside Heartland's farm house. Everything just felt really familiar and normal. Pans were bubbling away on the cooker, the table was laid and Amy could hear Katie chattering in the front room with Jack murmuring at regular intervals.

"Amy! Ty!" Once Katie saw the couple, she ran straight towards them, hugging Amy's legs.

"I've missed you!" Amy said, bending down and picking up Katie.

"Well, what a surprise!" Lisa said, getting up off the couch and going over to Ty. She peered into the baby's car seat and cooed at Seth, "He's the image of you both, aren't you Seth?"

Peter followed Katie and Lisa over, taking Katie from Amy's arms and letting the little girl look at Seth. "Katie that's your new baby cousin isn't it?" Peter said to Katie.

Suddenly, the screen door flew open again and Georgie sprinted straight through the kitchen and into the living room. "Can I hold him?" Georgie panted, putting her hands on her knees.

"After me, now go and get changed quickly smelly!" Lou said, coming down the stairs with completely curled hair.

Sighing, Georgie slouched past Lou and up the stairs. "Now, show me my nephew." Lou said smiling.


	7. Chapter 7

"Is he here?" Caleb burst through the door and bellowed with excitement, clutched in his hands were two blue ribbons which had big blue 'it's a boy' balloons attached to them.

"He's just got to sleep, come and sit down – I saved a plate for you" Lou said getting up from the table.

"Balloons!" Katie smiled and held up her hands, dropping her small child-sized knife and fork onto the floor.

Quickly, Caleb bent down and scooped the cutlery off the floor, as he did that, Katie leant across and squeezed one of the balloons, causing it to pop.

"Nooooooo!" Katie shouted as her face scrunched up into a cry. Peter instantly pulled his daughter onto his knee and cuddled her.

Due to all the commotion and noise, Seth began to cry in the nursery. Amy stood up from the table, "want to come and get Seth back off to sleep then Caleb?" Amy asked, smiling at Caleb's enthusiastic nod.

"God, he's definitely got Ty's eyes hasn't he?" Laid in Caleb's muscular arms, Seth looked tinier than he had before.

It was clear to see that Caleb was besotted with Seth. During Amy's pregnancy Caleb had helped Ty and Amy out a lot.

Ty had been working as much as possible and this often meant that he wasn't able to attend Amy's midwife appointments which were in Calgary. Instead of Amy driving to Calgary and attending the appointments alone, Caleb would attend them with her. He helped out at Heartland whenever possible, enabling Amy to keep working as long as she did.

Caleb had also supported Ty massively. When Amy had first found out that she was expecting Seth, and initially, Ty had been incredibly nervous.

In the past, when Ty had experienced big changes or a potentially difficult future, he'd fled from it. However, Caleb had taken Ty aside and together they'd talked it through.

Caleb had majorly stepped up in his role as a friend and was definitely considered a member of the family.

When Amy and Ty had told Caleb that they gave Seth Caleb's name as his middle name, he was very close to tears. They wanted the gesture to reflect their gratitude towards him.

"Straight off to sleep" Amy said, watching Seth drift back to sleep in Caleb's arms.

"You guys seem so much more grownup now" Caleb whispered as Amy carefully set Seth down in the cot.

Smiling Amy shrugged, "I don't feel any older, it's a bit like a guessing game of what to do."

"I can't even imagine looking after a baby…" Caleb chuckled softly.

"So you're not available to babysit alone?" Amy said grinning.

"It's probably not wise." Caleb chuckled again. "Now, I am absolutely starving and Lou's dinner smells delicious."

Back at the table, Katie was sat back at her place in the table happily eating her dinner. "Was he okay?" Ty asked as Amy sat down next to Amy.

"He's gone straight back to sleep after a cuddle with Caleb" Amy said smiling at Caleb, who was beaming with pride.

Light conversation descended over the dinner table as everyone began to eat their food. "So where's Dad? I thought he'd be here for the food."

"Oh he's going to be a bit late, I think he's already ate or something because he didn't want a plate saving." Lou said raising her eyebrow.

Usually Tim would be one of the first people sat round the dinner table waiting for one of Lou's legendary dinners. Whenever the smell of food was in the air, Tim was usually there.

"Weird."

A tradition in the Bartlett family was to have a naming celebration. The new member of the family was allocated a stone above the fireplace, in the farm house. Everyone in the family had a stone, including Ty and Peter. Today, it was Seth's turn to get his stone.

Once everyone had finished eating and the table had been cleared away, Lou got noticeably anxious.

Each event Lou organised was meticulously planned, usually down to the minute. Amy and the rest of the family knew that when this plan was ignored or bent, this upset Lou slightly, although in comparison to the past and after two children, Lou had gotten much more relaxed.

The dogs started to bark outside as Tim's truck pulled up outside the farm house. Lou's shoulder's visibly relaxed, "that must be Dad."

"Hey everyone" Tim strode into the living room and stood directly in the middle of the room.

Usually Tim typically dressed like a cattle rancher, sturdy but worn cowboy boots, a weathered cowboy hat, plaid shirt and thick, usually torn, battered jeans. Today however, Tim's appearance was much more refined and formal.

Instead of the tatty cowboy boots were new shiny brown leather ones, the cowboy hat that Tim now wore was also crisp and new. His jeans were a vibrant blue rather than a faded and yellowish light blue. The colourful and sometimes clashing plaid shirt was replaced with a crisp, plain white shirt. He'd even gotten a haircut.

"Dad…" Amy muttered, her father had worn the same type of clothes all the time she had known him. Seeing him in these new clothes left her speechless.

Grinning like a Cheshire cat, "do you like my new clothes?" Tim did a mock twirl in the middle of the living room.

In response to Tim's twirl, Jack put his head in his hands and sighed. "You look very smart" Lisa complimented, whilst elbowing Jack in the ribs.

"Thanks Lisa" Tim said, purposely twirling again to annoy Jack, who sighed again.

"Dad you look lovely, now can we get on with why we are here?" Lou said pulling Tim's arm so he sat down next to her on the sofa.

Jack stood up and glared at Tim, "finally, now that everyone is here, we can get round to welcoming the newest member of the family, Seth Caleb Borden."

Amy and Ty, who was holding Seth, stood up next to Jack at the fireplace. "That's Amy's stone, above Marion and Tim, next to Lou and Peter." Jack pointed to a small blue-ish grey stone on the handmade chimney breast.

Each member of the family right from Jack's grandfather to little Katie had been allocated a brick on the wall. "Now here, next to Amy is Ty, someone who has been part of the family for years and now is officially."

Since Amy and Ty's engagement five years ago, a wedding had been put on the back burner. So much had happened, Amy had explored Europe with Ahmed and his team, Ty had graduated university then developed a partnership with Scott at the vets and then the opportunity to buy Driftwood Ranch had arisen. Together they had decided to put their savings towards the ranch rather than a wedding.

"And here is Seth's stone, just above Amy and Ty's" Jack said smiling.

Turning, Amy looked at Ty and smiled. He looked so proud. Amy knew that Ty really enjoyed and valued family traditions and time spent together because he didn't have that during his childhood.

"Who wants a beer?!" Peter asked, standing up and smiling, "Ty? Caleb? Tim?"

Tim nodded and clicked his finger at Jack, "and one for Jack too Peter, after all Jack, it's not every day you become a great grandfather again?"

Frowning, Jack glared at Tim.

Ty looked at Amy for her opinion before nodding, "thanks man."

Standing up, Caleb followed Peter into the kitchen, "anyone else want a drink?" He asked standing in the archway between the kitchen and living room.

"Wine for me and Lisa please Caleb" Lou called.

"Okay, and another juice for Ams?" Caleb asked.

"Please" Amy replied, gently rocking Seth.

As Caleb stepped into the kitchen, his mobile began to ring. "Hello?"

"Caleb? Caleb? Where are you? He didn't find you did he?" The voice on the other end of the line screeched as soon as Caleb picked up.

Confused, Caleb desperately tried to work out what was happening. "Nicole? What's happened?"

"He found out Caleb, he knows." Nicole cried with desperation.


	8. Chapter 8

"He's gaining weight really well" the doctor said, scooping Seth up into her arms from the scales, "you must be very pleased."

Taking Seth from the doctor's arms, Amy smiled and nodded, "I could only imagine you saying that three months ago."

Since his birth, there had been numerous concerns about Seth's weight and his immune system. Luckily, with a special feeding regime given by the doctors, Seth had been steadily gaining weight.

"How are you holding up anyway? Tired?" The doctor smiled as she typed up Seth's medical notes.

A grin formed on Amy's face. For a person who'd spent their life getting up at 5am, Amy had underestimated how sleepless a baby could make you. "Of course! Although Ty, my boyfriend has been great at sharing the feeds. He's gone back on nights now though."

The doctor nodded and turned around to face Amy on her swivel chair, "hopefully you'll get settled into a new regime, you've been coping extremely well. It's clear you have a good support system." The doctor stood up and smiled at Seth. "Well I'll see you again next month for a weigh in and vaccinations, you can make an appointment at the reception."

Carefully, Amy put Seth into his teal pushchair. "Thank you, I'll see you next month" she said, as the doctor opened the door.

Making her way through the waiting area to the receptionist's desk, Amy saw Nicole sat reading a magazine. Quietly Amy greeted Nicole, "hey Nicole?"

Looking up from her magazine, Nicole smiled meekly, "Amy, you okay?"

"Great thanks, I haven't seen you in a while." Amy said, usually Nicole was always in the diner or the Dude Ranch, but just recently she'd been spending a lot of time in the office doing paperwork instead.

Nervously Nicole shuffled her magazine as if she was thinking of a reply, when a nurse shouted her name "Nicole Ashfield!"

"Sorry Amy, I'm going to have to run, I'll see you soon." She quickly put the magazine down and picked up her bag.

"Sure… See you soon" Amy muttered, confused with Nicole's obvious relief when the nurse called her name.

After making another appointment for the doctors, Amy headed into the diner. "And how was my gorgeous nephew at the doctors?" Lou cooed as Amy walked up to the bench where Lou was sat having a cup of coffee.

"He's great! Gained weight and everything!" Amy said sitting down next to Lou.

"Well done Seth!" Lou beamed, "did you want a coffee or something?"

"Please…" Peering into the distance, Amy squinted across the road and at the car lot. "Lou? Is that Dad?"

"At the car lot?" Lou lifted up her sunglasses and peered as well, "that sure looks like his new gaudy shirts… What's he looking at over there?"

Shrugging Amy lifted Seth out of his pushchair, "cars maybe?" Amy replied sarcastically.

"Dad! Hey Dad!" Lou shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth.

Leaning over a sports convertible car, Tim stood up, like a rabbit caught in the headlights.

"Over here!" Lou waved frantically, there wasn't a chance that Tim couldn't hear her but, Tim still turned around to check that it wasn't someone else being shouted.

"Hey girls" Tim said, jogging across the road. He was wearing an incredibly bright stripy shirt. The colours of each stripe clashed horrendously with each other. "Seth!" Tim sat next to Amy and took his grandson from her arms.

As Tim played with Seth, a waitress came up to the table and began to take Lou's order of three coffees.

When Lou had brought Katie home, Tim had really struggled to bond with his granddaughter. After a turbulent time between Lou, Jack and Tim over the issue, they'd finally got down to the issue that Tim had never really been around children. Although he was a father to three children, Lou, Amy and Shane, Tim hadn't played an active role in their upbringing. However, after forming a bond with Katie and Georgie, Tim had now really embraced being a Grandfather.

"Is Seth getting some hair Ams?" Tim asked, lifting up Seth's little orange sun hat, which had a cute octopus on, and examining his bald head.

Laughing Amy shook her head, "no sign yet, I'm guessing he's going to be blonde like me. You're a little bald man aren't you Seth?!"

"Don't worry Seth, it'll come with time" Tim said laughing and patting Seth on his head gently.

"Thank you" Lou said to the waitress before turning back towards Tim and Amy, "Are you getting a new truck Dad?" Lou asked.

With a glint in his eye, Tim smiled "actually, I was looking at convertibles."

A surprised expression fell across Lou's face, "convertibles?" she repeated frowning.

"Yeah… I want to feel the wind in my hair don't I Seth?" Tim said laughing.

Amy laughed along with Tim, "don't gloat in front of him Dad" Amy replied sarcastically through his laughter.

In the corner of her eye, Amy could see Lou thinking. She'd been concerned about their father ever since the evening that Seth had come the hospital. He'd been missing out on family dinners, getting a smart phone and now looking at new cars – Lou worried that Tim was going through a midlife crisis, despite the fact that Tim might have gone past the point of midlife.

"Can you afford that though Dad?" Lou pursued, "I mean, you've still got Shane's last year of school to help fund and then presumably college?"

Taking a deep breath, Amy knew that the conversation could take a turn for the worse. Tim knew that Lou was concerned and reacted to this concern with anger and defensive behaviour.

"Lou" Amy muttered in an attempt to stunt the conversation or prevent it taking a hazardous turn.

"I can afford it Lou." Tim replied sharply, handing Seth back to Amy.

"Really?" Lou replied sarcastically, "you've got some responsibility now Dad. Shane and Miranda depend on you now."

Exhaling, Tim stood up, "just be concerned with your own business Lou. Look girls, I've got to go, I'll see you soon."

Sighing at Lou, Amy looked up at her father and smiled "are you going to come for tea anytime soon or..?" She asked Tim.

"I'm busy this week Amy, sorry." Tim said shortly, stepping back across the road.

"He's acting so weird isn't he? Something's up that he doesn't want us to know about." Immediately Lou began to resume her interrogating.

Shaking her head slowly, Amy calmly replied "you were a bit out of order then Lou. It was a bit harsh."

"Harsh?" Lou repeated but, she was then stopped by the waitress coming to the table holding a tray with three coffees on. "Hi Lauren, thank you" Lou said, helping her employee give out the coffees. "My Dad had to rush off Lauren, your break is soon isn't it? Why don't you have that coffee?"

"Thanks Lou" Lauren replied smiling at Lou and Amy.

As Lauren moved away from the table, Lou picked up her coffee and blew on it, "I'm just concerned Amy. He's not the most stable man and it would break my heart for him to go back to that state he was in when I was growing up." She said quietly.

"Yeah but Lou, he's not done anything bad yet. Don't go accusing him for something that hasn't happened yet. Don't push him to fulfilling an expectation" Amy said taking a sip of her drink.


	9. Chapter 9

Indicating left, Amy turned off the country lane and into the driveway which eventually led to Driftwood Ranch. Just before the turn into the driveway, Amy slowed her truck to a crawl before finally stopping it and winding down the passenger window.

"Excuse me, I think you've missed a bit over there." Amy said with a grin as she pointed to a random place on the hedge.

Setting down the hedge trimmers, Ty turned around and headed towards the car with a big grin on his face.

Nev and Lobo were running around Ty's feet, Nev occasionally picked up one of the broken branches and ran around with it until Ty threw it for him.

Due to the heat, Ty had taken off his t-shirt and tucked it into the back pocket of his jeans. His hair was ruffled from him pushing his hands through it, his skin was a gorgeous sun kissed brown.

Sliding across the front seat, Amy opened the passenger door and kissed Ty. Running her hands through Ty's hair, Amy broke away from the kiss and smiled, brushing her hands down to Ty's cheek bones. "Hey" she whispered.

Kissing Amy's forehead, Ty smiled at Seth, who was sat in his car seat giggling in the back. "And how was your appointment at the doctors eh Seth?"

"He's on his way to his target weight, aren't you Seth!?" Amy said with pride.

Ty's grin grew immediately, "hi-five Seth!" leaning across the backseat, Ty held up Seth's tiny hand and gently hi-fived it. "I was a bit worried to be honest" Ty said turning towards Amy, "he still looks really small."

"I know, but at least we're doing the right thing and making progress. Seth can't ask for anything more than your best." Gently, Amy tried to comfort Ty. She empathised with him after feeling similar emotions regarding the health of their son. They both desperately wanted Seth to be completely in the clear in regards to his weight.

Opening the truck door, Ty slid across the seat of the truck and hugged Amy tightly. She didn't understand how much their little family meant to him.

From the back seat, Seth's face contorted in to a frown as he let out a cry. "Sounds like someone's hungry" Amy said.

"I'll feed him, haven't seen you all day have I Seth?" Ty said, shutting the door of the truck.

Turning the key in the engine, Amy looked at Ty, "you sure? I mean if you're busy…"

Shaking his head, Ty smiled and picked up Seth's baby bag off the floor, "nope, I've got loads of time! Besides, you've got your client arriving at Heartland later on, best go and get ready."

For over three weeks, Ty had back at work in the vets. He'd been working a couple of night shifts and a couple of early starts each week. Together, Ty and Amy had managed so far distributing the feeds between them in relation to Ty's shifts at work.

However, tonight, Amy had her first client back at Heartland. Luckily, because it was summer, the horses were turned out for the majority of the time, coming into the barn to get tacked up, groomed or to do some work. This meant that the work load would be much lighter compared to winter, however, Amy was still nervous about the impact working again would have on her new family.

"You sure?" Amy felt awful, like she was palming Seth off on Ty, "you've got to get ready for work soon."

Parking up the truck, Amy looked over at Ty who was shaking his head. "Amy go!" Ty jumped out of the truck and unclipped Seth from his car seat, "you can still do what you love to do Amy" he said smiling as he lifted Seth into his arms.

Smiling, Amy kissed Ty before being interrupted by a cry from Seth, "Now you're going to get fed mister." Amy took Seth's baby bag from Ty and the three of them headed into the house.

In the house, Amy immediately got started on making up Seth's bottle. Ty leant against the kitchen unit, with a grumbly Seth balanced on his hip. "Oh, Jack called earlier, he was looking for Tim." Ty said, gently rubbing Seth's back with his free hand.

"Dad? He was in town earlier. Did Grandpa say why he was looking for him?" Amy said confused. She'd tried really hard to not get involved in her father's business, especially when he'd been getting so annoyed at Lou for doing so. However, if Tim's behaviour impacted upon his businesses, Amy couldn't help but feel like she had to get involved. Regardless if Lou considered her a hypocrite for doing so.

Shrugging his shoulders, Ty clearly thought nothing of it. It was true that Tim and Jack were constantly nagging each other, in Ty's eyes, the pair of them being in business together was a silly idea. "No idea, it's just typical Jack and Tim isn't it? Worse than an old married couple." Ty said smiling at his joke.

"Yeah, typical" Amy repeated, just as she said that, Seth let out another wail.

A few moments passed, then Ty scrunched up his nose and coughed, "okay little man! Let's go deal with that nappy."

With three months of nappy changing and bottle making, Ty and Amy had gotten really efficient at both tasks. As Amy went upstairs with the bottle, Seth had already been changed.

From the landing, Amy could hear Ty softly talking to Seth, "you know you're even cute when you're crying? I mean I've never found anyone weeing over me funny before I met you!"

Smiling, Amy made her way up the stairs and handed the bottle over to Ty. "There you go" Seth immediately began to drink the milk, his cries immediately stopped, "he's happy now", Ty said looking up at Amy and grinning, "now you go and change those shoes." Ty pointed down at Amy's converse. "You're going riding!"


	10. Chapter 10

Pushing open the barn door, Amy stood in the middle of her barn and smiled. Nev brushed passed her leg and immediately began sniffing around the barn. "No weeing in here Nev!"

Ever since Amy and Ty had moved into Driftwood Ranch, they'd spent time getting the barn up and running. They'd painted, checked the structure of the building and made low cost improvements, such as putting windows at the back of each stable and installing a hose pipe outside.

To the back of the barn, Amy and Ty were planning to build another building, to become their business. Their hope was to build a stable block and a treatment room for horses recovering from major surgery and treatments. This would utilise both Ty's skills as a vet and Amy's natural horsemanship talents.

One neighbour of Driftwood was Heartland, and on the other side was the Equine Emergency Centre, which Scott ran as regional vet. They were helping out with the funding and helping Ty design the outbuilding.

For now, Driftwood Ranch simply served as a location for Amy's horsemanship services. Today was Amy's first client since she'd had Seth.

Shaking out some straw in the first three stables, Amy was overwhelmed with nerves.

Ever since she was fifteen, Amy had been taking on horses who were unsettled and troubled, trying everything within her power to help them achieve health and happiness. But, Amy knew that each horse was an individual, and their recovery was a long term arrangement.

Once they'd made progress, Amy's nerves were focused on the client's reaction. Clients expected the issue to be resolved and that be the end of it. They then took their horses home and found that their horses issues began to gradually resurface or their horses' condition regress. Amy then had to explain that Amy's work needed to be continued and included into the horse's routine, long term.

The client that was dropping off their horse today was notorious for being incredibly disciplined and in control. Her name was Erin, she was a professional dressage rider that had contacted Amy through a recommendation made by Ty, who was her and Duke's vet.

Erin's horse was called Royal Duke, with his stable name being just Duke. He and Erin had worked incredibly hard to reach the level of dressage that they were at. However, at the moment Duke was refusing to do anything at all in training.

Instead Duke was acting really out of character, he was sluggish in the school and when prompted, he'd run back to the gate, cut corners and had even bucked.

After being checked over by Ty and Scott at the vets, checking Duke's saddle and teeth, Erin had been at a loss as to what was bothering Duke. That was when Ty recommended Amy.

Hearing a vehicle pull up outside the barn, Amy took a deep breath in and headed outside. A truck with a glossy new trailer had pulled up outside. The trailer had Erin and Duke's names written all over it, the dash board of the truck was covered in rosettes – all evidence of their success together. Amy felt an immense pressure as she approached the truck, she wondered what the implications would be if she didn't.

"Are you Amy Fleming?" A petite woman gracefully got out of the truck. She had brown hair which was cut into an immaculate pixie cut.

Nodding, Amy held out her hand "Erin?" She asked, shaking Erin's manicured hand. Everything about this woman seemed to be perfect, her jodhpurs were bright white with not even a stain on them. "Nice to meet you" Erin replied smiling, "it's a beautiful place you have here. Duke is very lucky to stay here."

Pride overwhelmed Amy, both Ty and Amy had spent an unbelievable amount of time and effort on Driftwood Ranch. When anyone complimented her or Ty, it was incredibly gratifying.

"Thank you! Would it be okay if we get Duke out? On the phone you said that Duke should be fine to have a little ride in the arena?" Amy said. She desperately wanted to see Duke in action.

In preparation for his arrival, Amy had been watching past footage of Erin and Duke performing their rosette winning dressage routines. She had been astounded by Erin and Duke's partnership together, they moved like one person, it was hard to imagine any problems they would have.

"Sure, it wasn't a long drive. He should be absolutely fine, or I'd expect him to be." Erin smiled, heading to the back of the horse box.

Quickly, Erin unloaded Duke, Amy was immediately taken back by Duke's beauty. Duke stood at about sixteen hands and was of an incredibly muscular build. Amy could tell that he was at peak physical fitness, there wasn't an ounce of fat

on him. "What breeding does Duke have? I'm sure there's a bit of Andalusian in him."

Nodding, Erin led Duke over to the barn and tied him up outside. "He's got a mixture of Morgan horse and Andalusian in him."

"He's stunning" Amy ran her hand down Duke's thick muscular neck. The gelding was pristine, his white coat didn't have a single marking on it, it was clear to see that Erin was his owner.

As Erin tacked Duke up, Amy unloaded his belongings, putting them in the tack room just off from the stables. Prior to Duke's arrival, Erin had written down Duke's feeding regime, so Amy wrote them onto the whiteboard in the feeding room.

"Amy?" Erin came into the feed room, holding her riding hat, "we're ready."

Nodding, Amy picked up her phone off the top of one of the feed bins and followed Erin out.

Stood in the middle of the outdoor arena, Duke had his ears pinned back, scowling. Erin led him over to the mounting box and she struggled to get him to stand still. Getting out her phone, Amy filmed Erin and Duke.

Once Erin finally got on Duke, she asked him to walk around the arena. From the video footage that Amy had watched, Duke had been an incredible mover, with fluid and clean paces. Now, Amy saw a horse dragging his feet reluctantly around the arena with his ears pinned back.

Warmed up, Erin asked Duke for a trot but, instead she was met with a bolt across the arena in a surge of energy. Duke put his head down and leaped into a canter diagonally across the arena, jolting

Luckily, Erin was an incredibly capable rider and soon calmed him down, halting him near the gate. "Do you want to stop it there Erin?" Amy asked, jumping down from the fence of the outdoor arena.

Nodding, a red faced Erin dismounted and pulled up her stirrup irons, "he's like that every single time, I've tried lunging him beforehand but it just doesn't have any affect."

Opening the gate, Amy watched as Duke barged Erin out of the arena, "let's get this guy in the pasture." Amy said, closing the gate behind them.


	11. Chapter 11

Under her breath, Amy counted Spartan's strides, "one, two, three" before slipping her feet into the trick riding stirrups at the top of the saddle.

Ensuring that her footing was secure, slowly Amy rose from her crouched position, strengthened her core and put her arms out for balance.

Wind ran through Amy's long blonde hair as Spartan cantered around the round pen with Amy stood on his back. His hooves powerfully strode around the round ring without any aids. Closing her eyes, Amy felt free.

Amy loved spending time with Seth and looking after him but, each decision Amy made, she questioned. With Seth Amy always felt a fear that she was doing something wrong or that she might not be making the best decision. Horse riding however, seemed so natural and fluid to Amy. It was a relief to just do something and not question it.

Opening her eyes, a grin appeared upon her face. Ty was stood at the side of the round pen, holding Seth, who was watching Amy and Spartan with a big grin on his face. "Look, there's your Mum!" Ty said smiling.

From Spartan's back, Amy waved, "I can see you Seth!" She shouted, watching Seth giggle at his name.

"Whoa whoa Spartan," after completing a circuit of canter on the other rein, Amy slowly got down from her standing positon and gradually slowed Spartan down to a trot, then a walk.

Guiding Spartan over to the fence, Amy grinned at Ty, "someone's a bit happier now eh?" Looking at Seth, who had completely transformed from the grumpy baby earlier on.

"I think a bottle and nappy change sorted that out" Ty said smiling. "Hey Seth, do you want a little ride?" Ty asked, looking up at Amy for a response.

Nodding, Amy gently slid off Spartan's back, "could you pass me Spartan's bridal?" Amy asked, pointing towards the bridal which was hung on one of the posts of the round pen.

Quickly, Amy put Spartan's bridal on and then vaulted back onto his back. Once Amy had found a secure seat, Ty passed Seth up to Amy, who carefully sat Seth in front of her.

After assuring that Seth was securely sat and Amy had a firm grip on him, Ty went and held onto Spartan's reins, leading him around the arena.

"Yay! Seth's first ride!" Amy exclaimed happily as Ty turned around and took a picture.

Smiling, Amy pointed at the photograph that Ty had taken on his phone of Seth riding Spartan, "Look at his little face" she cooed, "he looks so much like you there Ty."

Together, they were now walking Spartan to the field with Seth in Ty's arms. The walk with Seth had served as Spartan's cool down and he was now ready to get turned out.

"Definitely got the Heartland gene there" Ty said smiling, "riding horses before he can crawl or walk."

Opening the gate, Amy let Spartan wander into the field. Immediately the big black horse trotted off towards the other horses, who were busy grazing in the sun set.

Earlier on, Amy had introduced Duke to both Harley, who was Ty's horse, and Spartan separately on neutral ground. This then reduced the chances of any field squabbles. Generally Spartan and Harley were really good with new horses however, Amy always wanted to ensure that when horses were in her care, any risks were controlled and horses always had the possibility of being unpredictable.

"My mom did the same thing with me and Lou…" Amy said closing the gate, gazing at the sunset, a familiar ache returned to Amy's heart.

Looking down at the ground, Ty kept one arm wrapped around Seth and put the other on Amy's shoulder.

"I'd do anything for her to see him." Amy said, turning and holding on to one of Seth's tiny hands.

Nodding, Ty gently held Amy's hand before leading her away. "It's okay…" Amy looked up at Ty and saw the awkwardness on his face.

Ty and his mother Lily had had a rocky relationship ever since he was a child. She hadn't always put her son first, instead her boyfriends had. Ultimately this had led to Ty's trouble with the law and removal from his family home.

Even though Ty had re-established a relationship with his mother, there was still tension there which resulted in a new distance between them. This new distance was primarily caused by Lily's decision to go back to Wade. Back when Ty was living at home, Wade had been drinking and had abused Lily, Ty had found out and attacked Wade. Recently Wade had helped out Ty, however, Ty still struggled so badly to forgive Wade for hurting his mother.

As far as Amy knew, Ty hadn't spoken to his mother about Seth's birth or even the pregnancy. Whenever the subject was raised, Ty brushed it off or found something else to do. She hadn't had the time to properly sit down with Ty and discuss the issue, as to not cause any distress.

"Let's go and get some supper, I've got to go to work soon." Gently, Ty led Amy in front of him before putting his hand on the small of her waist and gently guiding her.

"Sure" Amy muttered, mentally acknowledging the fact that Ty had once again brushed over any hint of conversation regarding his mother.


	12. Chapter 12

Turning the handle, Amy carefully closed the door with a gentle click. Amy didn't want to risk waking Seth up again once she'd just gotten him to sleep.

Ty had left for work at six and Seth had gone to sleep around half past. Amy had gotten him into a routine where Seth woke up for his bottle around eleven and then slept right through till five in the morning.

However, a couple of nights ago, Amy had been a bit heavy handed and shut the door particularly nosily, causing Seth to wake. She had then struggled to get him back to sleep for hours.

Now Amy had a specific routine. Close the door gently, then carefully make her way down the stairs, avoiding the third and seventh steps which were both creaky.

Downstairs, Amy could see the flicker of light from the television that was gently mumbling away in the background. Padding into the sitting room, Amy sat back down on the sofa, in between Nev and Lobo, who were both sprawled out, happily snoring, leaving the tiniest space in between them for Amy.

As Amy sat down on, Nev lifted his head and looked at Amy before resting his curly head on her arm, instantly falling to sleep. "Nev!" Amy whispered under her breath as she tried to get her laptop off the coffee table with one hand.

That night, Amy had been studying the video footage from Duke's ride with Erin earlier. Amy had played, paused, stopped and replayed the footage several times, looking for anything that could have caused Duke's behaviour.

So far however, Amy hadn't spotted anything that would suggest that Duke was frightened. Numerous times Amy had stopped, paused and rewound the video, she was sure that Duke didn't seem to be fleeing from anything or spooking.

Just as Amy was about to press play, Amy heard a tap at the door. Immediately, Nev opened his eyes and pricked his ears, "don't, you'll wake Seth" Amy held her a finger to her mouth and shushed the young dog. Standing up, Amy considered who could possibly be at the door this time of night. Maybe there was an emergency with one of the horses or at Heartland.

Picking up Nev, Amy padded through the dining room and kitchen to the porch. "Two minutes" Amy said as she got the door keys from the key hook that Ty had made.

Opening the screen door and then the stable door, Amy stood in shock at the person stood behind the door. "Lily?" Amy stuttered, "is everything okay?"

"Amy" Lily's face grew into a smile, "can I come inside?"

"Sure!" Setting down Nev on the floor, Amy picked up Ty's mom's bag and brought it inside "come in, come on inside…" Amy turned around to see Nev running around outside, "Nev!" She called him back inside the house.

"Do you want a drink? Food? Anything?" Amy asked, putting down Lily's bag and rummaging through the cupboards, "we have some left over pasta from earlier. We had it for our tea so it's fresh."

Standing awkwardly against a kitchen unit, Lily kept gazing around the room, as if she was taking in every detail. "Lily?" Amy looked back at the older woman after a moment of silence.

Breaking her gaze, Lily resumed her smile from earlier. "Just a glass of water would be fine Amy thank you, I didn't wake you up did I? I know it's late" Lily said, twirling her wedding ring.

Getting a glass from a cupboard, Amy turned on the kitchen tap and let it run cold. "No, I was…" Amy was about to say that she'd just been up with the baby but, rethought her words. She desperately didn't want to upset or betray Ty in anyway but, how couldn't she tell Lily that she had a grandson now she was here? "I was still up."

Handing Lily the glass of water, Amy let curiosity and the overwhelming desire to change subject take over. "If you don't mind me asking Lily, not to be rude or anything but, how come you're here?"

Since Lily had gone back to Wade, neither Amy or as far as she knew Ty, hadn't heard from Lily at all. Her turning up out of the blue just indicated trouble.

"I turn fifty this year and I just wanted to see my son. Hopefully I can stay a little bit?" Lily asked. Sadness hit Amy, she always felt a compassion towards Lily regardless of all the things that had gone on between her and Ty. She always felt that if her mom, Marion, had been alive, Amy would relish every second with her.

Running her hands through her long blonde hair, Amy debated with herself in her thoughts. "Look Lily, I'm going to be straight with you. I have no problem with you staying but, Ty might." Amy smiled awkwardly. "Stay tonight and then I really think you two need to talk tomorrow." Amy said decisively.

Sipping at her drink, Lily nodded, "that's only fair."

"There's something else that you need to know Lily." Amy said firmly, if Lily was going to stay, she'd find out sooner or later. "You've got a grandson," in her head Amy's delivery seemed to be much softer, however, in reality, it came out kind of bluntly.

Shock fell across Lily's face, "you're pregnant?!"

Quickly, Amy shook her head, "no, I mean… I was pregnant. Until three months ago." Looking across at Lily's facial expressions, Lily seemed astounded. "Here, let me show you a photo, he's sleeping at the moment."

Scrambling around, Amy headed into the front room and took a photo of Seth off the wall. "That's Seth" Amy said passing the photo across to Lily.

Immediately, Lily's face softened into a smile. "He looks like the perfect mixture between you two. Seth?"

Smiling, Amy nodded. Standing up, Amy locked the door and returned the key to its hook. "I'll show you your room, I bet you're tired after all that travelling."

As Lily followed Amy upstairs, she looked around Ty and Amy's house. The wall that followed the stairs up to the landing was covered in photographs, in frames which ranged in colour, size and style. Lily looked at the photos with a sense of happiness combined with sadness. Her only son had a life that didn't really involve his mother.

"So Seth's in there," whispered before pointing at Seth's door, "and you can stay down here." Amy led Lily down the hallway to a spare bedroom. "There's a bathroom just next to your room."

Opening the bedroom door, Amy put Lily's bag on the bed and smiled, "I'm just down the hallway if you need anything."

Closing the door, Amy let out a big sigh of relief. She didn't know how Ty would react or whether she'd done the right thing. Amy now knew however, that Seth was also involved, and she had to make the best decision for him.


	13. Chapter 13

Pulling the bed covers right up to her ears, Amy lay on her side and watched the time on the alarm clock slowly tick by. Ever since Amy had gotten into bed, she'd been laid there waiting for the clock to slowly tick round to 5.30am when Ty would be back from work.

The tiredness she'd been feeling earlier had been replaced by nerves. Reaching out for the bedside table, Amy picked up her mobile phone and looked at the screen, there was no missed phone call or text message from Ty.

Earlier on Amy had tried ringing and texting Ty's mobile with no luck. Part of her was tempted to ring the surgery phone but Amy knew that only the monitored emergency line operated at night.

Part of her had been tempted to head down to the surgery and warn Ty but, Amy didn't want to leave Seth and Lily alone, especially if he woke up. Instead Amy had been tucked up in bed, staring at the time.

Hearing a truck pull up outside, Amy propped herself up with her elbows. Nev, who was laid on the bed at Amy's feet woke up, with pricked ears and went over to Amy.

"Hey, you okay? Not like you to awake now." Ty said taking off his watch and putting it on the bed side cabinet, before sitting on the bed next to Amy.

Smiling, Amy gently shook her head, "I know, look Ty, I've got to tell you something." Nervously, Amy looked at Ty's green eyes, which glistened in the morning sunlight that was slowly filtering into the bedroom. "Lily's here, she turned up during the night."

Surprise hit Ty's face, he leant back against the headboard of the bed, running his hands through his hair. "Is she still here?" Ty asked, looking at Amy.

Nodding, Amy reached out for Ty's hand "she's in the guest room" she said softly.

Ty sat perfectly still, keeping his eyes fixed on the wall straight ahead.

Just as Amy was about to decide whether to ask if she'd done the right thing, if Ty was angry or upset, what he was going to do, a wail was let out from the baby monitor. "I'll go feed him." Ty said, releasing his hand from Amy's and leaving the room.

Throwing the covers off herself, Amy dangled her legs off the side of the bed, "that couldn't have gone any worse" she said to herself as she stood up.

Feeling incredibly guilty, Amy walked downstairs and went straight into the kitchen and filled up the kettle, ensuring there was enough water boiling to sterilize Seth's bottle and some for a cup of tea.

Whilst Amy waited for the kettle to boil, she picked up the photo frame that she'd shown Lily earlier on and took it into the living room. Sitting down on the sofa, Amy looked at the photograph.

The photo Amy had shown Lily was Seth's first ever photo. It had been taken the day that Seth had been gone to Heartland for the naming ceremony, the day that Seth had come home from the hospital.

Sat next to Ty on the steps of Heartland's veranda, Amy held Seth close to her, resting her head in the crook of Ty's neck smiling. Seth's little green eyes were wide open and the little new born baby had an expression of peace.

Holding the photograph close to her chest, Amy leant back into the sofa, and closed her eyes. The tiredness that had escaped her earlier had crept back up on her.

"Ams, hey, Ams" Ty's voice and gentle touch woke Amy from her sleep.

Opening her eyes, Amy was suddenly aware of the awkward position she'd been sleeping in, her neck ached and the photo frame still remained in her fingertips.

"What you doing down here with this?" Ty asked, taking the photo frame from her clasp. "I love this photo" he said once he'd realised which photograph it was.

Sleepily Amy, looked at the photograph, which was now in Ty's hands "me too." Looking up at Ty's face Amy couldn't see any anger or upset in his facial expression. "I thought I'd done the right thing."

Ty set the frame down on the coffee table in front of the sofa and held out his hand towards Amy, "I know, I'm sorry."

Frowning, Amy took Ty's hand as he guided her off the sofa and up the stairs to their room. "You don't have to be sorry for anything Ty."

Once they'd got to their room, Ty and Amy split and went to their respective side of the bed. Whilst Amy had been downstairs, Ty had gotten changed into his boxer shorts and an old T-shirt. Now they were back in their room, Ty took the T-shirt off and clambered into bed next to Amy.

"I do have to be sorry Amy, I saw the missed calls and texts. It's just a shock that's all." He said, wrapping an arm around Amy and embracing her. "I don't want Seth to experience anything like I did."

Turning her head to face Ty, Amy smiled, "Seth's here, I'm here and most importantly you're here. We're in control here Ty. We protect him."

Smiling, Ty leant into Amy and kissed her, "love you."

"Love you too."


	14. Chapter 14

Yawning, Amy sat her mug of coffee down on the step of the veranda before sitting down next to it. Last night, although Amy had managed to get a few hours' sleep, she'd woken up feeling like she wanted to return to bed. Seth however, had woken up at eight and expected Amy to be awake at the same time.

Turning to look over her shoulder, Amy looked at her son who was happily gurgling in his cot that was on the veranda. Lou had bought Seth a beautiful mobile which had little stars, varying in colour, rotating around.

Smiling, Amy turned back around and watched Lobo and Nev skitter about the yard. The two dogs were happily running about, sniffing and playing. Lobo was getting a bit older but, he still managed to keep up with Nev, who'd found a tennis ball.

"Nev!" Amy shouted, beckoning the puppy who immediately ran over to her. "Drop it" she commanded, holding out her hand for Nev to drop the tennis ball into her hand, "good boy!" Amy praised the puppy before throwing the ball across the yard, immediately both dogs ran after the tennis ball.

After scrambling around in the grass next to the barn and a bit of a squabble between the two dogs, Lobo triumphantly trotted towards Amy, holding the tennis ball in his jaws.

Just as Lobo dropped the tennis ball at Amy's feet, Tim's truck pulled into the yard. "Amy!" He bellowed out of the window waving.

Jogging over to the truck, Amy quickly shushed her father, "Dad! Ty's on shifts, he's still asleep!"

Oblivious, Tim got out of the truck and slammed the door, "I need your help, and possibly a bit of breakfast?" He asked cheekily as he passed Amy two shopping bags.

Peeking into the bags, Amy followed her father onto the veranda. "Hey here's Grandpa Tim!" Tim excitedly picked up Seth from his cot and cooed over him.

"You've been to the tech shop?" Amy asked, seeing that her father, who had previously detested any new technology apart from his old 'brick' mobile, had bought a new laptop and mobile phone.

Shrugging, Tim pushed open the screen door and sat himself down on a stool that was near the kitchen units. "Thought I'd get up to date" he said playfully to Seth, before turning and looking at Amy, "could you fetch me a coffee?"

Putting down the shopping bags, Amy got another mug out of the cupboard and poured Tim a coffee, "here you go, I'll put Seth in his highchair" she said, scooping a chuckling Seth out of Tim's arms and into his highchair.

Once Seth was settled, Amy pulled up a stool next to Tim and began to look at the laptop and mobile phone that he'd bought. "Lily's here by the way" Amy mentioned in a hushed tone.

"Lily? As in Ty's mom?" Tim exclaimed, looking around the room as if he expected her to pop out from behind something. "When did this happen?"

"Last night, when Ty was at work, I had absolutely no idea what to do." Amy said as she opened the various boxes. "It was so awkward."

It was unusual for Tim and Amy to approach such a complex topic, usually their conversations revolved around the horses, Heartland, Tim's cowboy lifestyle and High River, his ranch. However, Amy found Tim's absent and sometimes ignorantly inconsiderate rather comforting today. Instead of the twenty questions she would've gotten from Lou or the obscure, puzzling advice that her grandfather would reel off, Tim simply brushed it off, providing Amy with blunt and honest answer.

"She still here now?" Tim asked, reaching for an apple from the fruit bowl and biting into it.

Nodding, Amy untangled the charger for the laptop and plugged it in. "I didn't know what else to do, tried to ring Ty but I couldn't get through."

Shrugging, Tim replied "well he can't get mad, it's Lily's fault for putting you in an awkward situation. She's lost a couple of marbles that one if you ask me" Tim said, before being distracted by the laptop's screen lighting up. "Now Amy, I want you to show me how to work the camera on here."

Smiling, Amy laughed "the camera? Are you sure you haven't lost your marbles?"

"I'm not saying anything else on the matter, and neither are you. Now just show me how to work the bloody thing." Tim said, swivelling the laptop towards Amy and tapping the kitchen unit.

Turning to face Tim, Amy made sure all the emotion had drained from her face, "right Tim, are you ready to listen and concentrate? I'm only doing this once."

Inevitably, it took more than one explanation for Tim to be able to turn on the webcam, take a photo of himself and view it again. Amy found herself slowly regressing into simple vocabulary and slowing down her speech.

"Well done Dad! There you go!" Amy praised Tim as he finally uploaded a photograph of himself.

Chuckling, Tim examined the photograph that he'd taken of himself, "don't look bad for a Grandpa do I?" He said cockily, turning the laptop to face him. "Tell you what Amy, I'll mind Seth for a bit here, you go and sort the horses out or whatever."

Frowning, Amy was suspicious of Tim's willingness to look after Seth. Generally, babies weren't really Tim's thing. "Um okay, I'm going to work with Duke just in the round pen. I've got my mobile on me, if he wants feeding you know where the bottles are."

Staring at the computer screen, Tim nodded robotically at Amy, "yep, no problem. What's your wiffy password Amy?"

Laughing, Amy typed the password into her father's password, "it's Wi-Fi Dad" Amy said heading towards the door. "And keep an eye on Seth, not just the computer." She said turning back to look at her father eagerly typing away.

"It's a laptop Amy, not a computer, jeez!" Tim said jokingly.


End file.
